London taxi maker goes broke

The outlook is mighty bleak for the maker of London’s famous cabs — as abiding a trademark of the city as red telephone boxes and Harrod’s.

Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC
/quotes/zigman/155119UK:MNGS, the maker of the famous taxis, announced in a filing with the London Stock Exchange on Monday that its board concluded it is “no longer a going concern and has filed notice of intention to appoint administrators.”

Reuters

A London cab.

The move comes after efforts to secure funding from various parties proved unsuccessful the company said.

Shares of the Coventry-based firm were suspended earlier this month after a steering-box fault on its new TX4 model prompted a recall.

According to the BBC, the woes were the latest in a series of blows for a firm that has seen sales dip more than 9% from last year – a development the company blames on the economy.

Already the company reported a loss of 3.1 million pounds ($5 million) for the first six months of 2012, the BBC said. That was followed in August by the revelation the company had underreported past losses by 4.25 million pounds, the report noted. Shares last traded at around 10 pence each, the BBC said.

“The Board remains hopeful that the fundamental strengths of the company, the TX4 model and its global reputation will provide the platform for a successful business in the future,” the company said.

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